iTunes Review

Rickie Lee Jones’ recording career began with the big splash of the unexpected hit “Chuck E.’s In Love,” and over the years the jazz-pop hipster has given way to a songwriter who’s turned some unusual corners. 2009’s Balm In Gilead reflects a folkier, at times more solemn and ambient Jones. “Wild Girl” is an even-paced ballad that gently explodes in a torrent of words. (Jones wrote it for her daughter as she turned 21, undoubtedly expecting the apple to fall near the tree). Ben Harper duets for the blues-laced, experience-laden “Old Enough.” Vic Chesnutt and Alison Krauss (on violin) join Jones for the country-inflected “Remember Me.” “His Jeweled Floor,” with guests Chesnutt and Victoria Williams, calls from another sonic station with a sweet ache in its slow gait. The gentle sprinkle of piano notes on “Eucalyptus Trail” shadow Jones’ elusive poetry, and a creeping nightclub organ follows the R&B- based instrumental “The Blue Ghazel.” “Bayless St.” ends things with dobro, mandolin and slide guitar, taking us further back in time before Jones found her current aches and cares.

Customer Reviews

vulnerable, resilient, boppy and deep

by
kinogod3

Rickie rides that indescribable RLJ wave here on this new collection of songs, especially Wild Girl, The Blue Ghazel, The Gospel of Carlos, Norman and Smith, and Bonfires. There is a theatrical West Side Story pocket that Rickie sometimes rides in her music; the deep felt folk tin pan alley pop balladeer thing. Her songs and voice can still open the door in ourselves where we feel, where we ake, where we yearn. I just love her and love these songs. Rickie is an American original. Support her music.

RLJ never ceases to amaze me

by
TobyInTampa

I've been a fan of Rickie's since her first hit. Her music is timeless and not once been molded by any passing fad. With this release, you hear some street-wise funkiness from her earlier days (The Blue Ghazel), a song reminiscent of a hymn (His Jeweled Floor) (I swear listening to this song is like sitting in a church full of Rickies all singing to you). Remember Me makes me wanna be sitting in a saloon by myself drinking a beer. The Moon Is Made of Gold was actually written by her father and Bonfires seems to bring me to tears. In the past, many of Rickie's CD's have put me in a certain frame of mind .. Flying Cowboys puts me in the desert, Pop Pop puts me in a little diner with vintage toys and gizmos everywhere, Rickie Lee Jones & The Magazine put me in the streets. Balm In Gilead simply puts me at peace.

Balm in Gilead

by
Dazza1116

The BEST we have seen from her in a long time. It is gentle and lyrical and a must for any fan.

Biography

Born: November 8, 1954 in Chicago, IL

Genre: Pop

Years Active: '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s

From her 1979 debut onward, Rickie Lee Jones has proved to be an original, mixing beatnik-based poetic sensibilities with R&B, jazz, folk, and pop. Most of her commercial success came at the outset of her career, but a restless creative spirit -- combined with a stubborn refusal to fit comfortably into any one musical niche -- sealed her ultimate destiny as that of a highly regarded cult heroine. Jones was born on November 8, 1954, in Chicago, but the volatile relationship between her mother and...